> For a brief, maybe fifteen year period out of their 100 year history.
More like 34 years.
The IBM PC debuted in 1981, and they sold their PC business to Lenovo in 2005.
> And even those weren't big sellers.
Still, let's not downplay the impact that the IBM PC had on the industry.
More like 24 years, but point taken. I thought the PC end was sold off in the late 90s.
My grandmother has been retired for years, she worked as an accountant.
Any time there's a conversation about computers, she'll pipe in with remarks about how "Compaq makes the best computers".
For a brief, maybe fifteen year period out of their 100 year history. And even those weren't big sellers. Point being, I don't know that it was ever reasonable to ask the "man on the street" what IBM does, and expect anything but a vague answer.
Hell, my mother used to program their 370s and System/38s (precursor to the AS400). I haven't asked, but if asked the same question, I wouldn't be shocked if her answer were, "wait, they're still in business?"